Rep. Jim Jordan: Republican ‘Leadership Should Work with Us’ on Immigration

Former Freedom Caucus chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) said at a press conference on Wednesday that the Republican “leadership should work with us” on passing an immigration bill President Trump will sign.

Rep. Jordan said, “We are trying to deal on immigration with a focus and intensity that is consistent with the mandate of the 2016 election that has to happen, and, yes, leadership should work with us to get it done.”

Speaker Paul Ryan failed to pass the farm bill on Friday after the Republican leadership did not follow through on bringing the Trump-endorsed Goodlatte immigration bill to the Floor for a vote. After the farm bill failed, Republican leadership blamed the Freedom Caucus for tanking it.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) suggested on Monday that the House will revote on the farm bill on June 22 after the House votes on the Goodlatte immigration bill earlier that week.

“We’re looking at moving the farm bill on June 22 and having the Goodlatte-McCaul bill come up the third week of June,” Scalise revealed to reporters.

One senior Republican source said the failed farm bill is a symptom of a lame duck speaker.

The source said, “Obviously, the House Freedom Caucus is to blame, but this is the problem when you have a lame duck speaker who announces he’s leaving eight months in advance. He can make calls to members to urge them to vote for something, but who will care?”

Several establishment Republicans and Democrats signed a discharge petition to force a House Floor vote on an illegal alien amnesty bill.

Jordan then suggested that if the discharge petition gets 218 signatures, the House will vote on the amnesty bill on June 25after the House votes on the Goodlatte bill.

Rep. Jordan said, “This will result in an outcome that is not what we campaigned on, not what the president campaigned on, and what we promised the American people.”

Congressman Andy Biggs (R-AZ) said at the press conference, “I think the discharge petition is a mistake. It will cause red states and districts to struggle. The outcome of that will be a miserable outcome.”

“You’re going to have enormous problems,” Biggs added.

Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) contended, “I think it’s important that we have a process, that we have a bill that the president can sign. I think everyone can recognize the president is not going to sign the product of the discharge petition, the clean Dreamer Act.”